dbcve.org
Galaxy J5 FirmwareOperating system · Samsung

CVE-2019-15440

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2019-11-14
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
The Samsung J5 Android device with a build fingerprint of samsung/on5xeltedx/on5xelte:8.0.0/R16NW/G570YDXU2CRL1:user/release-keys contains a pre-installed app with a package name of com.samsung.android.themecenter app (versionCode=6010000, versionName=6.1.0.0) that allows other pre-installed apps to perform app installation via an accessible app component. This capability can be accessed by any pre-installed app on the device which can obtain signatureOrSystem permissions that are required by other other pre-installed apps that exported their capabilities to other pre-installed app.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · moderate confidence

The Samsung J5 (build G570YDXU2CRL1) ships with a pre-installed themecenter app (com.samsung.android.themecenter v6.1.0.0) containing an exported component that allows arbitrary app installation. This component is accessible to other pre-installed apps holding signatureOrSystem permissions, creating a privilege escalation pathway where any pre-installed app can silently install additional APKs without user consent.

MitigationApply the vendor firmware update from Samsung addressing this vulnerability. For enterprise environments, implement MDM policies to monitor for unauthorized app installations and consider device replacement if the update is unavailable.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Galaxy J5 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify device model
    Check if the device is a Samsung Galaxy J5 by running 'getprop ro.product.model' or checking the device settings under 'About Phone' > 'Model number'
    Affected if The device model is Samsung Galaxy J5 (any firmware version)
  2. Verify themecenter app is installed
    Check if com.samsung.android.themecenter exists by running 'pm list packages | grep themecenter' or using an app like Package Manager
    Affected if The package com.samsung.android.themecenter is present on the device
  3. Check themecenter app version
    Run 'dumpsys package com.samsung.android.themecenter | grep versionName' to retrieve the installed version
    Affected if The installed version is 6.1.0.0 (all versions of this app on the J5 are affected)
  4. Identify apps with signatureOrSystem permissions
    Run 'dumpsys package <package_name> | grep -i permission' for each pre-installed app to find those holding android.permission.SIGNATURE_OR_SYSTEM level permissions, or use a permission analyzer tool
    Affected if Any pre-installed app holds signatureOrSystem permissions, enabling access to the vulnerable exported component
  5. Audit for unauthorized app installations
    Review system logs via 'logcat -d | grep -i install' or check /data/app/ and /system/app/ directories for APKs installed without user knowledge, especially in enterprise MDM logs if available
    Affected if APK files exist or installation events are logged that were not initiated by the user through the standard Play Store or Settings

If the device is a Samsung Galaxy J5 with the themecenter app present and any pre-installed app holds signatureOrSystem permissions, the environment is affected by this privilege escalation vulnerability.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the vendor firmware update from Samsung addressing this vulnerability. For enterprise environments, implement MDM policies to monitor for unauthorized app installations and consider device replacement if the update is unavailable.

Fix this in Galaxy J5 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,280
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2019-15440 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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